A Mouse Tale
by cartoonlove
Summary: This is the tale of a Mouse, who found something truly magnificent in the most unlikely of all situations. Read and review please! Chapter Three now up.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, I started watching Beauty and the Beast a few months ago, and tonight I was filled with such inspiration that I just had to start writing a story about it. Unfortunately, I'm only on the first season, and haven't finished it, so any mistakes regarding Mouse or Vincent or anything else, are mine and mine alone.

**Chapter One**

"What's it like Vincent?" Mouse had asked him that day, the one year anniversary of Catherine having come into his life. "To have a love?"

His face had been so childlike, so full of curiosity, as his face normally was. But there was a trace of something new in his features, but one Vincent knew all too well.

Longing.

He knew the ache that was occurring in Mouse's chest as he heard again and again about various kinds of loves. From books, from the numerous stories the beings from Below told. Childhood, unrequited, forbidden, passionate, innocent. And so many more. The dull sadness as he tried to imagine a future, to him which could never be.

Vincent had experienced these emotions, these feelings, more than anyone. Then, completely unexpectedly, he had gotten something so wonderful, so beautiful, it was hard to believe it was even true at times. But it was, he knew it was. Every time he embraced her, felt her small form folding so easily and effortlessly into him, leading Vincent to believe she had always belonged there. Every time she said his name, her singsong voice making it sound like the most beautiful of all symphonies. And of course, every time his chest constricted whenever she wasn't near.

It was the most wonderful of all feelings, Vincent couldn't believe he was lucky enough to receive this incredible gift.

...

Mouse could see it all. Vincent thought he was concealing it well, but nothing could be hidden from him. Mouse was more observant than people gave him credit for. He saw the way he lit up when Catherine walked into a room, and when it immediately darkened upon her leave. When she was near, he saw the immense joy and love in his eyes, as well as Catherine's.

He wanted more than anything, to have someone look that way at him.

Even when he was young, Mouse could tell he was different. He could figure any type of mechanical problem out within seconds, and come up with new inventions in minutes. The ability to speak though, he noticed, was not one of his strong points. Others spoke clearer. Words more pronounced, flowing together easily. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how smooth sentences seemed in his head, when he tried to execute them, they came out broken, disjointed. It frustrated him greatly. That his ability to communicate with others was so unbelievably difficult.

Jamie was the first one who understood him at first literally, then as time went on, figuratively.

He loved her of course, but as a brother loves a sister. And he was thankful for all of his "family" in the world Below, but, as much as he loved them, he felt something was still missing. Like there was a void in his chest, never quite filled. Like a screw missing from one of his inventions, that didn't really disable it, but would make it work much better if it was there.

At least that's how he looked at it. It was hard to explain really, not that anyone was really asking him to. Mouse had a suspicion that Vincent suspected something different in him, a sadness, one that no one else noticed.

Vincent had always noticed more, always went out of his way to make sure everyone Below was happy, or just had someone to talk to. Not that no one else did, it's just with him, it was always top priority, others always, _always _before himself.

When the punishment of silence was forced upon Mouse, it was the loneliest time he had ever experienced. He had felt loneliness of course, but never like that. His entire family had seemingly abandoned him. He realized later that they were completely just in their decision, he had endangered all their lives, almost being discovered and exposing his world. At the time though, he was so filled with rage and hate, towards Father, the entire world Below, even Vincent. He had hated himself for hating them. Not once in any other time, had he felt so ugly. So unworthy of anything.

It was then that Mouse realized that that's how Vincent must feel. Unworthy of anything good, anything happy. It was completely absurd that he felt that way, of course, but he now had a better understanding of just why. He was unable to venture above, except at night, he didn't have the freedom to see her when he pleased. Yet he still loved her, even though it was so difficult to be together.

That's what he wanted.

He wanted a person who wouldn't care where he came from, that he didn't always speak in fully coherent sentences. Who's opinion wouldn't change of him, no matter what.

...

Mouse sat at his desk, tinkering away with his newest invention. He wasn't exactly sure what it was yet, but all of them started out that way, with no real purpose in mind until it started coming together. He had just picked up his screwdriver the tighten the loose screw by the bottom, when he heard someone enter.

He looked up, "Vincent!"

Vincent smiled, giving a single nod in response. "Hello Mouse."

"What..." he struggled, "bring you here?" he grimaced at his sentence's brokenness.

Vincent walked to Mouse's bed, sitting down, "Is something on your mind? That you wish to talk about?"

Mouse looked at him for a moment, then set down his screwdriver, eyes downcast, and clasped his hands together, letting them fall in his lap.

"Mouse? You can speak to me, whatever it is."

He looked up, biting his lip. He wasn't sure where to begin, it all made some sort of sense in his head, but the explanation out loud might not make nearly as much sense. As most of his thoughts worked out.

Vincent waited patiently, his eyes trained on him.

That was Vincent, always patient. Never interrupting, never pushy.

"I...I...feel....a...alone."

Vincent cocked his head, understanding. "You feel lonely?"

Mouse bit his lip again, doing a small, almost unnoticeable nod for the question's affirmation.

To anyone else, the normal response would be "Why?". But Vincent wasn't anyone else, he had a much better idea of what Mouse was feeling. He was sure of it.

"I...I...want..." he stopped.

"Want what, Mouse?" Vincent asked.

The young boy noticeably swallowed, hard, before continuing.

"I...want....l-l-love." Mouse looked down, somewhat embarrassed that he had voiced his thoughts aloud, that seemed sillier than they had in his head.

The tall, burly framed man smiled in response, comprehending Mouse's embarrassment. He stood then, walking over and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, looking down at him.

"Mouse." he said, and he looked up, "What you're feeling, it's completely normal."

"It is?"

"Yes," Vincent replied, "It's only natural you want the kind of love that the world Below can't offer."

Mouse smiled up at him, "Like from Catherine?"

A smile spread over Vincent's face, "Yes, like from Catherine. Mouse, patience is a virtue. All good things will come in time. Remember that, alright?"

Mouse nodded, smiling, "Alright, I remember."

Suddenly, there was a burst of commotion coming from Father's study, Vincent and Mouse exchanged a confused glance before running down the stairs. When they got to Father's study, every member of the world Below was there, exchanging excited whispers and worried, nervous glances.

"Father?" Vincent said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, "What's going on?"

The man raised himself from his chair, his brow furrowed in frustration, "Pascal sent out a message over the pipes, he said someone is in the tunnels."

"Maybe it's Catherine, it's not the first time she's come unannounced." Vincent suggested.

Father shook his head, distracted by the nervous murmurs swirling around him. "No, no, it's someone else, someone foreign to our world."

Vincent grimaced, "Pascal!" he called out.

The man appeared by his side almost instantly. As if he expected to be called, which he probably did, knowing him.

"What did you see?"

Pascal furrowed his brow in concentration, "I'm not sure. It was much darker than normal, all I could tell was that they didn't look like one of us, and whoever they were looked like they were carrying a...a weapon of some sort, a gun I think. So I put an all-quiet signal over the pipes, sent the message, and hurried over as quickly as I could. I did it just in case, you know...?"

"No, no," Vincent finished, "I understand, we need to take every precaution to make sure we're not discovered," Father agreed with a few nods, "however, we don't know if this person is any danger to us, not yet."

"But they were carrying a weapon, Vincent!" Father said.

"Pascal said it was dark, and he said 'looked like'." Vincent said, "I will go and see who it is."

"You will not." Father replied adamantly. "We don't know who this person is, and seeing you might..."

"Frighten them, giving them an excuse to use it, I know. But I must, Father. This isn't the first time I've done something of the sort."

"All the same, we can't risk sending anyone down."

"Father..." Vincent pleaded.

"No, I told you, we can't--"

"I go." Mouse broke in, who up until this point had remained silent, eyes shifting between Pascal, Father, and Vincent as the conversation had gone on.

The entire room fell silent as all eyes were quickly trained on him.

"That's very brave of you, Mouse, but I told you, we can't risk it. Not even Vincent can go down." Father said to him.

Mouse shook his head, "I...I hide. I spy." To emphasize his point, he held his hands up to his eyes, then shifting them and peeking out.

"He's right." Vincent said, "Mouse knows these tunnels better than anyone, and could easily travel through them to see who the intruder is. No one else has that ability, Father."

Father grimaced, he was right. If anyone could travel around, undetected, in silence and efficiently, Mouse could.

It seemed like ages before Father finally spoke, the silence of that room with so many people inside had been almost eerie, the entire room hanging on his next few words.

Sighing, Father said, "All right, you may go, but as soon as you see who they are, what their purpose is, you send a message through the pipes that very instant. Understand?"

Mouse nodded, then looked to Pascal, "What tunnel?"

"East, lower level." he replied promptly.

Father placed a hand on his shoulder, "You better go now, and remember to send a message. This is of the utmost importance."

Vincent then said, "Thank you, Mouse, you're bravery means a lot to everyone."

Mouse nodded in acknowledgment to both comments, then turned to make his way out of the study into the vast mazes and arrays of the tunnels.

"Wait!" he heard from behind him.

Turning around, Jamie was running toward him, her arms open before finally clasping around his neck, giving him a hug. "Good luck Mouse, be safe, okay?" she said into his ear.

He smiled as he pulled away, "I be safe."

Jamie smiled back at him, "Good." and with that, she turned around and walked back into Father's study, immediately joining Vincent and Father.

Mouse sighed, and turned back to the journey ahead of him.

...

Hope you liked it, don't hesitate to review!


	2. Chapter 2

Realized I forgot a disclaimer on the first chapter. So here it is:

I own nothing, except characters of my own creation.

**Chapter Two**

Mouse had been crawling through the makeshift tunnels he had made in the numerous years of living Below, for about half an hour, when he peered out of an opening from above an abandoned subway tunnel when he saw them.

He still couldn't tell who they were, but even in the darkness, he could tell they were out of place, one shape too many in the shadows.

Whoever it was, they seemed to be struggling, taking short, jagged breaths, hunching over with each step. Mouse watched them with interest, curiosity overpowering his fear for a few moments.

The figure took a few stumbling steps, then let out an groan full of anguish, its volume reverberating against the rock walls again and again, never seeming to end, and then falling on their side, falling silent.

His breath caught, he didn't know what exactly to do. Father had said to send out a message as soon as he saw the person, but it seemed heartless to just leave them here. He weighed the options of his next actions in his head.

He could do what Father requested, ordered really, and send out the message now, or he could venture down and find out just what exactly they were there for.

Mouse bit his lip, wrestling with the two choices.

...

A few minutes had passes, and Mouse had decided he was about to just do what Father had demanded, figuring it was better for all involved, when the figure let out another moan, it was much louder than before, and it was seeming to call out to him in particular.

"Can't leave." Mouse said to himself.

He arranged himself over the opening, dropping himself down, feeling the rush of air in his ears before landing a few feet over from where the figure was, without even making a sound. It was a talent he picked up in his childhood, it had scared the daylights out of Father and mostly everyone else Below, much to his amusement, but it had come in handy more than once.

Turning his head and narrowing his eyes at the person, still curled up, he tentatively made his way over to them, slowly but surely.

There was another moan, although this one much softer. Mouse froze, whoever it was still had their back to him as they shifted, bringing themselves up on their knees. From the way their back was shaking, it looked to him as if it was taking every ounce of strength to not fall onto their side again.

Mouse started to walk again, his boots barely making a sound as he crept up on this strange person. He couldn't make out any details, even with the help of the somewhat distant subway light that they kept lit. The person had a thin jacket on, it looked to be black or a navy blue or some sort, and the hood was pulled over their head, preventing any clues to their identity.

The person was rising to their feet now, albeit very unsteadily, and began the attempt to walk/

Mouse took a step back in surprise as the figure stumbled from side to side, before collapsing against the tunnel wall on the left side.

He crept over to them, coming around their side very slowly, as to not startle them any more than they would be. They didn't seem to notice him at first, until he was directly in front of them.

It was then that Mouse got a good look at who the intruder was.

It was a girl, her eyes half-closed as her cheek pressed against the cold stone, then flickering open slowly as she acknowledged him. Not with fear, but...indifference it seemed.

"Hi...Mouse." he gestured to himself with his gloved hand.

He happened to look down just then, and gasped involuntarily.

Her jacket, open at the front, most notably her mid-section, was covered in blood, almost black upon her tan shirt underneath. Her hand was clasping her side, her fingers digging into the fabric there. Her other hand held her weight against the wall.

Mouse's mouth was agape as he held up his hands to her, gesturing, "I...I call Father. He help!"

She regarded him through half-lidded eyes, her hand slipping from its perch then, causing her to tumble backwards. Mouse gasped again, reaching for her just before she made contact with the tightly packed dirt, falling down with her onto his knees.

He breathed a few ragged breaths before reaching over to the nearest rock, and grunting with the effort, reached across the girl to the pipe there.

He tapped the small rock against the metal pipe frantically, glancing down at her face now and again. Her eyes opened and looked at him with a glazed over expression.

"Father help!" he said to her, "Then you be okay good, okay fine!"

The girl smiled, almost unnoticeably, before her head fell back into the crook of his arm.

...

The members of Below in the study listened with alert at the frantic tapping, backs ramrod straight.

Father listened closely, his ear cocked toward the ceiling, an expression of worry and confusions sweeping across his features. Jamie at his side, Vincent behind them, a hand on both of their shoulders. A look of immense concentration on all of their faces.

The tapping from frenzied, erratic, not making sense at first. The, slowly, it started coming together, bits and pieces recognized by individual people.

Vincent looked up, recognition on his face, "Someone's hurt," he continued to listen, "he's asking for help."

Father glanced up at him, "We'll send people down at once. If it's serious, it must be dealt with. No matter who it is, they need help."

"I'll go." Jamie volunteered, standing.

"Me too." Pascal said, joining her.

"As will I." Vincent said, "We'll need Winslow too."

"I'll go." the burly man said, standing.

Vincent nodded, "Everyone else stay here. Father..."

The old man nodded, "I'll prepare the hospital room at once. Mary will assist me, as she always does."

She nodded over by the bookshelves in conformation.

"Then we must be going now." he replied, turning, Jamie, Pascal, and Winslow nodding in agreement as they began walking behind him.

Breaking into a run a few feet down the tunnel, no one spoke, knowing how each minute they wasted was a minute that someone else could need.

...

They never stopped, running for what felt like hours, before finally reaching the East tunnel, and seeing Mouse hunched over the person, still frantically hitting the pipe again and again with a rock.

"Mouse!" Vincent said, running over to him.

He looked up, his face glistening with sweat, blood staining his cheeks, and dropped the rock he was holding. "She..." he said urgently, looking down at her, "hurt! Need help! Need...Father!"

Without so much as a word, Vincent unwound Mouse's arms, unlocking his desperate hold on a girl, who looked so young in the subway light, hoisting her into his arms.

"Jamie, Pascal," he said to them, who had gone to Mouse, helping him to his feet. "I want you to send the message over the pipes, make sure they know what happened. Then I want you to find out where she came from. Investigate the direction she came from. We need all the informations we can get, alright?"

They both nodded, "Okay." they said in unison.

Vincent nodded, "Mouse and I will get her back to Father. Send us a message if you find anything."

They nodded, again in unison, turning around and making their way back the opposite direction.

Mouse joined him at his side, jittering nervously, intertwining his fingers and glancing over at the girl in Vincent's arms from time to time.

"She be okay good, okay fine?" he asked anxiously.

Vincent pursed his lips, let a moment or two pass in the silence as they walked as fast as they could down the tunnel, their footsteps echoing off the walls. "It's difficult to say. I'm not sure what exactly has happened to her."

"Oh," Mouse said, raising his hands and gesturing, "blood, lots of blood. Grabbing side, pain."

He pursed his lips again, "Midsection wound most likely, but all the same, Father needs to get a look at her, and quickly."

Mouse bit his lip in response. He hoped that whoever this strange girl was, she'd be okay. Even with his limited experience in medical matters, he knew she was in pretty bad shape. He glanced over at her again, her hand that had been clasping her side was hanging free now, her palm red-soaked.

Her hood had fallen back, allowing Mouse to see the darkness of her brown hair, some of it sticking to her forehead and covering part of her closed eyes. Her face looked so discomforted, so in pain, it hurt Mouse to look at her.

But look at her he still continued. He couldn't help it, he was worried.

This wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, Catherine's arrival coming to mind, but she was just so...._young_. He couldn't even begin to pinpoint an age in the half-darkness, so he just focused on the rhythm of his footsteps as the hit the dirt again and again.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

_Okay good. Okay fine._

...

A/N: I started this chapter immediately after the first one, and it was such a fun experience to write it! Look for more updates!!


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing, except characters of my own creation.

**Chapter 3**

Mouse sat beside the hospital bed, squirming slightly in the wooden seat. He had stayed by the stranger ever since he'd found her, feeling responsible for her well-being.

When Father examined her, he discovered she'd been stabbed in her lower midsection, luckily, the wound wasn't deep enough to require medical attention from above. He had promptly stitched her up, and gave her anesthetic to sleep through the worst part of the pain.

She'd been unconscious for the past three days, and Mouse had sat by her side night after night.

Jamie had tried to persuade him to leave the girl alone for a few hours, he needed rest.

...

"No rest." Mouse had said, "Need to stay here." he gestured to the girl. "She needs me."

Jamie had simply nodded, knowing her brother would never have an inkling of desire to abandon anything or anyone.

...

Vincent and Father tried as well, but soon realized by Jamie's urging, that nothing could be done. So they had began bringing Mouse meals throughout the days that passed.

He continued to stare at the strange girl. Mary had cleaned her, so that no trace of blood was left. In fact, it looked as if the girl was merely sleeping, and not recovering from a bloody injury.

He could now see that she had chestnut colored-hair, that radiated golden hues when candlelight shone across it. Long lashes extended from her closed eyelids and brushed the tanned cheeks below as she slept.

Mouse smiled nervously at the lying form, thinking it would somehow will her to wake up. He saw her hand, laying limp at her side over the blanket.

It was his ritual, hoping her hand would twitch, and she'd wake up.

Mouse swallowed, and slowly, nervously, reached over the blanket, and grasped the girl's hand in his.

Her fingers were thin, and cold. They fit inside his like a child's, and he felt protective of her in that instance. She was so small, and how anyone could inflict something like that on someone was nauseating to him.

Mouse swallowed again, and felt a single tear slide down his cheek.

"Please," he whispered as he lay his blonde head on the bed, "be okay. Be fine."

...

He wasn't sure how long he'd laid there, but suddenly, he felt movement beneath his fingers. It was slow, and uncertain as the fingers closed over his.

Raising his head, he saw the girl's eyes had opened, and were focused on him with an alarming alertness.

She swallowed, "Hi." she said, her soft voice cracking.

Mouse was uneasy, he hated to talk to new people, sure they'd make fun of his speech. "Hi." he replied.

"Where..." she shifted her body slightly, "am I?" she asked.

He licked his lip as he made a wide sweeping gesture with his arm, "Below."

"Below? You mean...below the city?" the girl asked as her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

Mouse only nodded. A safe response. He knew he should immediately call for Father and Mary, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

Not now, when he felt she needed him the most. And his selfishness played a part too, he wanted to have this strange girl all to himself for a little while, his own little secret. In a place where secrets weren't kept for long.

This brief period of ignorance regarding the other members of Below was savored as he gazed at her awakening form under the heavy quilt.

The girl looked down at her side, "Who brought me here?"

Mouse pointed at himself. "Jamie, Vincent help too."

The girl pursed her lips, "And who are you?"

"Mouse." he replied tentatively, certain she'd make fun of it.

"Hello Mouse," she smiled as she said it, "I'm Autumn."

Mouse smiled at this, "Autumn?" cocking his head, he inquired, "Season?"

Autumn laughed, "My parents, well, they were hippies. Big into the whole, unique and original name movement."

Mouse didn't know what "hippies" were, but he smiled anyway. As he looked down, he realized his hand was still intertwined with hers. She didn't seem to notice.

"Do you...remember what happen?" Mouse asked, pointing to the rock ceiling above, "Up there?"

Autumn sighed as she patted her side tenderly, "Parts. I remember a masked man, and being afraid. I also remember excruciating pain." She flinched as she hit a tender spot on her wound, "Looks like that was true. I also remember being cold, I couldn't find my jacket, I think I'd left it somewhere. Maybe that's why I was here."

Mouse squeezed her hand without realizing it, Autumn glanced down, then back up at Mouse. "Are you okay good, okay...fine?" He mumbled, trying to shake off the inexplicable growing feeling of warmth in his face.

Autumn smiled weakly, giving his hand a quick squeeze back, "For the most part, I just wish I could remember more details. I feel like I should be terrified, but I'm not."

"Why not?"

She bit her lip, "I don't know. I think, as absurd as this might sound, that I've been here before. And I feel calm."

Mouse only nodded, absorbing the information.

Autumn visibly shifted in her borrowed hospital gown, "Where did you get your name?" she asked, changing the subject.

Mouse shrugged, "I scurry, through tunnels. Like mouse."

Autumn nodded, smiling faintly. "What's your real name?"

"Mouse is real."

"No, I mean your _real _name. The one your parents gave you."

Mouse felt the cold stab of fear, this question he could not answer with a few words.

"I...n-never knew them. When small, Father," here he paused, gauging her reaction to his slightly jarring speech pattern. Autumn seemed unconcerned, gesturing for him to continue, "bring me here. To Below ground."

Autumn brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she gazed at Mouse, "Did he tell you why?"

Mouse pursed his lips, finding words were coming easier now. "Some. Said I was abandoned, in big park."

She nodded, "It's lucky he found you."

Mouse smiled at her in response, feeling like there was a separate meaning to him in her words. "Yep. If not for Father, wouldn't have Jamie, wouldn't have family, and wouldn't have gadgets."

"Gadgets?" Autumn asked.

"Mhm, make stuff. Stuff that works, sometimes stuff that doesn't work." Mouse shrugged again.

Autumn smiled again, "So you're an inventor then?"

Another shy shrug was the only response. "What stuff does Autumn do?"

She laughed for a few seconds, before glancing down at her stitches.

"I wish I had the talent to be one. To think up something in your head and then create it, to watch it become a real working thing is just amazing to me."

Mouse gazed at his worn out shoes, not used to being praised so openly for something most of the people down Below would rather not exist to begin with. "What do you like to do?"

"I like to write." Autumn said, after a brief pause. "Especially about far off places that no one thinks exists. Kind of like here. It's kind of ironic, if you think about it."

Mouse smiled, "Then...Autumn inventor."

She laughed as she laid her head back onto the pillow. "You know, I never thought of it that way before. And actually, on second thought, don't call me Autumn."

"Why not?"

Shaking her head, she responded, "I don't really know." she yawned, her eyes beginning to close again, "I...don't think it suits...me very...well."

And that was it, she was asleep again.

Mouse swallowed again, smiling weakly as he got up to tell Father the news.

...

A/N: Hey readers! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I feel just awful about neglecting this story all these months. It's the ridiculous amount of crap I have to do, and CBS no longer airs the episodes online anymore, so I'm forced to do it by memory. So again, I apologize for any inaccuracies. I know this chapter was more dialogue than substance, but I couldn't help myself. SO, please read and review, thanks! :)


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